Rolling restoration for under £1000

[A911DOM]

D18OCK said:

Yes this is true. I have received a quote this morning and they offer an agreed and guaranteed valuation should the car be written off. Purchase price is not considered.

Anyway what do we think of the car?

It was mentioned above that the 1500 engine is the one with the 'reputation'!

Car looks fine, with the little bits that need sorting, and coming into snowy season (if you really like it on viewing), offer him low and see how tempting it is. He needs to sell and you have all the time in the world to find the right car!

Personally I'd go for the older models as they are easier on the eye for me. Or, if upping the budget a bit, try and find a GT6 in need of a little TLC and have something that sounds nice and has a bit of go in it.

[davepoth]

Hooli said:

I had a 1500 Midget (same engine) & 9 years of 'active' driving didn't produce any harm. Ok I never drove faster than it wanted to go, but would you really try to keep a car of that age over 80 for long?

Yep, my car of that age will happily sit over 100 for a full tank of fuel. (Dolomite Sprint). I'm informed that the 1300 variant of the triumph engine will happily run right up to the redline for long periods with no ill effects too.

The problem with the 1500 vs the 1300 is that the 1500 has a very long stroke crank which is exceptionally hard on the bearings and crank. It introduces quite a lot of crankshaft "whip" which makes the engine feel unhappy to rev. The 1300 can go to about 8k without needing lots of crazy bottom end work.

As for ultimate power, here's an example. The 1300 was only offered in single carb trim on the Dolomite. Owners have since retrofitted twin carbs and figured out that the reason why this happened was that without emissions equipment fitted, and with the same inlet/exhaust system, the 1300 is capable of as much HP as the 1500.

[john2443]

A911DOM said:

D18OCK said:

Yes this is true. I have received a quote this morning and they offer an agreed and guaranteed valuation should the car be written off. Purchase price is not considered.

Anyway what do we think of the car?

It was mentioned above that the 1500 engine is the one with the 'reputation'!

Car looks fine, with the little bits that need sorting, and coming into snowy season (if you really like it on viewing), offer him low and see how tempting it is. He needs to sell and you have all the time in the world to find the right car!

Personally I'd go for the older models as they are easier on the eye for me. Or, if upping the budget a bit, try and find a GT6 in need of a little TLC and have something that sounds nice and has a bit of go in it.

Quick look on ebay suggests you might struggle to get a GT6 for under a grand, although this looks close...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRIUMPH-GT6-BLUE-/3206173677...

[D18OCK]

Thanks for the help guys, I have bought the Spitfire! £1800!!!!

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...

[BMWChris]

Well done!